HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Consolidated Commission on Utilities has approved the power utility’s requested amendments to its energy conversion agreement with Guam Ukudu Power LLC, the company that will be operating the 198-megawatt combined cycle power plant being built at Ukudu, Dededo.
The amendments take off $57.3 million in costs due to canceling a reserve generation facility but also add on about $17 million in new costs due to claims and an acceleration cost.
The cost claims that Guam Power Authority General Manager John Benavente presented to the CCU during their regular meeting Tuesday evening were a little higher than the figure given last week during their work session. The cost claims are now shown to be around $11 million, while they were reported to be about $8.3 million last week.
Benavente said Tuesday that he didn’t include about $2.7 million for a phosphate removal system last week. The rest of the $11 million comprises $6.5 million in cancellation claims for the now-canceled reserve power facility and $1.8 million for a backup water cooling supply.
GPA also requested a $5 million adjustment to the ECA to facilitate an accelerated commercial operating date. Storage tanks at the Ukudu Power Plant facility were damaged by Typhoon Mawar last year. Commissioning was set to take place in April this year but, after the typhoon, was initially estimated to be delayed to around January 2026.
The acceleration cost is meant to get the plant fully commissioned by Sept. 15, 2025. According to discussions last week, GUP will only receive $4 million if commissioning is delayed to Sept. 30 of that year and, rather than get any acceleration cost payment, will instead have to pay $240,000 each day the project is delayed thereafter.
The amendments overall reduce the ECA amount to $529 million over the life of the 25-year agreement.
The Public Utilities Commission will also review and decide whether to approve the changes.
A separate, but equally important, issue for Guam’s power generation status is the temporary power contract between GPA and Aggreko. The matter is on the agenda for the PUC’s regular meeting Thursday.
GPA wants to bring on board 20 MW of temporary power to bridge generation needs until the Ukudu plant is online and to mitigate load shedding in the summer months when power demand typically increases.
The law enacted earlier this month extends the emergency period for the temporary power project, which underwent emergency procurement, and expedites the attorney general’s review of the Aggreko contract. However, the Office of the Attorney General returned the contract to GPA on March 15 with recommended changes.
Benavente said Tuesday that there’s been some back and forth between GPA and the OAG and between GPA and Aggreko regarding changes that could be made.
“I’m hoping we can resolve this in the next day or so and in time for the (PUC) meeting on Thursday,” Benavente said.
Commissioner Francis Santos asked if utility officials could still proceed notwithstanding the position of the OAG.
“That’s the question that everybody’s asking. We’re kind of like the guinea pig out there,” Santos said.
Commissioner Simon Sanchez commented that there would be risk.
GPA legal counsel Marianne Woloschuk said Tuesday that they are waiting for the attorney general’s approval, adding that she met with Aggreko’s lawyers that day, and there are some contract changes that will be presented to the OAG, which she hoped would be acceptable.
Attorney General Douglas Moylan said a little past noon Wednesday that he was informed there was no response yet from Woloschuk as of earlier that day.
Construction continues on the Ukudu Power Plant as seen on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Dededo.
